Our Impact

This year, our Early Childhood Education Center passed re-accreditation by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) — a rigorous, five-year renewal process that fewer than 10 percent of child care centers, preschools, and kindergartens in the United States ever achieve. For...

They're known affectionately as "the basket ladies"—a title Claudia Lash and Pat Lupo have earned through fifteen years of creating legendary silent auction baskets for St. Vincent's Fashion Show & Luncheon. But their story runs much deeper than beautifully curated gift baskets. It's about two...

This Daughter of Charity is marking 25 years of service this year—a journey that's taken her from Vietnam to hospitals in San Jose, up to Alaska (where yes, she really did catch that massive fish in the photo), and now to Santa Barbara's Fr. Virgil...

Every weekday morning, Irma and her ten-year-old granddaughter Erma walk out the door together. Erma is headed to Hope School, just down the road. Irma is headed to the YMCA for strength training three mornings a week, restorative yoga on the other two. It is...

The kitchen filled with the scent of sautéing vegetables and Japanese seasonings. Around the counter, twelve mothers chopped, stirred, and laughed—some tentatively trying techniques for the first time, others confidently sharing tips from their own cooking traditions. For two evenings in March, the usual stress...

A Simple Act, A Powerful Impact At the Father Virgil Cordano Center, something as simple as a haircut is changing lives. In a recent feature by KEYT News Channel 3-12, Sister Oanh Tran of St. Vincent’s Santa Barbara shares how her unique background in healthcare...

“The poor will teach you many things. Honor them as you would honor Christ himself.”
— St . Vincent de Paul

From Homelessness to Hopeful: How One Mom is Rebuilding Her Life Through St. Vincent’s Support Program In this KEYT News segment from Santa Barbara, viewers meet Sophia Mendez, a mother who found stability and hope through St. Vincent’s Family Strengthening Program. After months of housing...

Nick Welsh’s Santa Barbara Independent piece on the Longest Night memorial, honoring the 69 people who died experiencing homelessness in Santa Barbara County, closes with a powerful acknowledgment of the ongoing work of the Father Virgil Cordano Day Center. The article highlights how the center,...

The 15th Annual St. Vincent’s Santa Barbara Fashion Show & Fundraiser brought together community, couture, and compassion at the stunning Rosewood Miramar Beach in Montecito this past November. Sponsored by longtime supporters Claudia Lash and Pat Lupo, the beloved event featured a lively silent auction,...

Leadership Spotlight: Rosa Paredes of St. Vincent’s Santa Barbara We loved seeing Santa Barbara Women’s Professional Network shine a spotlight on an extraordinary local leader: Rosa Paredes, President and CEO of St. Vincent’s Santa Barbara. Featured on SBWPN’s LinkedIn page, the post highlights Rosa’s remarkable...

St. Vincent’s 15th Annual Fashion Show & Luncheon Featured on KEYT We’re excited to share that St. Vincent’s 15th Annual Fashion Show & Luncheon was recently featured by KEYT! The event, held at Rosewood Miramar Beach in Montecito, brought the community together for a beautiful...

St. Vincent’s Family Strengthening Program Featured in Noozhawk We’re honored that Noozhawk recently featured how the Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara is helping transform outcomes for families through its support of St. Vincent’s Family Strengthening Program. The article highlights how strategic grants from the Women’s...

In this episode of the Peace Podcast, host(s) sit down with Rosa Parades, CPA, who serves as the First Lay President and CEO of St. Vincent’s. They discuss her leadership journey, her transition from accounting into nonprofit executive work, and her strategic approach to tackling...

St. Vincent’s 24th Annual Charity Golf Classic in the Montecito Journal We’re thrilled to share that St. Vincent’s 24th Annual Charity Golf Classic was recently featured in the Montecito Journal! The article highlights our exciting fall fundraiser held on October 6 at Ty Warner’s The...

St. Vincent’s Charity Golf Classic Makes Headlines We’re proud to share that St. Vincent’s 24th Annual Charity Golf Classic is getting well-deserved recognition in the local and nonprofit news. The event, which raised an incredible $170,000 in support of St. Vincent’s mission, was recently featured...

Wakefield 805 - October 3, 2025 In this episode of Wakefield 805 radio, host Drew Wakefield begins by talking with Rosa Paredes, President & CEO of St. Vincent’s Santa Barbara, about the organization’s upcoming major fundraisers — including the Golf Classic on October 6th at...

St. Vincent's | Santa Barbara, CA. On October 8th, 2024, St. Vincent's had the honor of hosting a visit from a distinguished member of the California State Assembly - Assembly Member for the 37th district, Gregg Hart. The visit provided a valuable opportunity to discuss...

August 25th, 2024, Santa Barbara, CA | The Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara has emerged as a prominent force for positive change within the Santa Barbara community, empowering disadvantaged communities, vulnerable women, and families to overcome adversity and achieve their full potential. Through its collective…

  August 15th, 2024, Santa Barbara, CA. Last month, Congressman Salud Carbajal (CA-24) made a welcome visit to St. Vincent’s campus. The Congressman’s visit underscored a critical issue facing our community: the lack of affordable housing for low-income families and seniors. The visit served as…

Santa Barbara, CA | The Santa Barbara Independent | May 31, 2024 | In 1914, the blossoming motion picture production company Flying A Studios catapulted Santa Barbara’s St. Vincent’s orphanage into a dazzling limelight of international fame with the release of a one-reel silent film,…

JOANNE CALITRI | December 5, 2023 | MONTECITO, CA The much-loved St. Vincent’s Santa Barbara annual fashion show luncheon took off with all the holiday flair of the season at the Rosewood Miramar Beach Ballroom on Saturday, November 25. This year was their 15th annual…

JOANNE CALITRI | October 26, 2023 | MONTECITO, CA Monday, October 16, saw the 22nd Annual St. Vincent’s Santa Barbara Golf Classic at the Montecito Club, a charity tournament supporting single mothers and young children in the Family Strengthening Program. There were 20 teams with…

Santa Barbara, CA | The Santa Barbara Independent | September 7th, 2023 In the latter half of the 19th century Santa Barbara became a mecca for people suffering from chronic respiratory illnesses. The publication of books, such as Charles Nordhoff’s California: For Health, Pleasure, and Residence in…

Santa Barbara, CA | Noozhawk | August 1, 2023 UCSB’s Sergey Salushchev and Thomas Lankiewicz Win Dissertation Award by Debra Herrick for UCSB For doctoral students, dissertation awards honor the endeavors of their graduate research along with the end of their time as student scholars….

Santa Barbara, CA | KEYT News | July 14, 2023 St. Vincent’s transitional housing program implements new role to help homeless mothers in Santa Barbara.   Since 1858, Saint Vincent’s has been on a mission to help homeless mothers and their children in Santa Barbara….

Santa Barbara, CA | Good Life TV | June 7th, 2023 Sister Arthur Gordon, DC sat down to chat with Dean Wilson from Good Life TV, a program of The Turner Foundation – Since 1958, for an inspiring interview about her life-long commitment to the…

Santa Barbara, CA | Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara | May 11th, 2023 Hundreds of members of the Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara gathered on May 9, 2023 to celebrate the positive impact of collective giving and to award 10 large grants to nonprofits located…

Santa Barbara, CA | The Santa Barbara Independent | April 11th, 2023 The connections between Santa Barbara and the history of the Civil War aren’t well-known. Although the state of California played a major role in ensuring the Union’s decisive victory, the city was far…

Santa Barbara, CA | Noozhawk | March 1st, 2023 St. Vincent’s is excited to welcome a new member of our Board of Directors, Kenneth Trigueiro, CEO & President of People’s Self-Help Housing – the longest-serving nonprofit housing organization on California’s Central Coast! We invited Mr….

JOANNE CALITRI | JANUARY 5, 2023 MONTECITO, CA Richie’s Barber Shop on Coast Village Road is having its 11th Annual Holiday Donation Drive, this year for St. Vincent’s Santa Barbara and Adam’s Angels. The Shop’s event chair and lead barber Jessica Jay is coordinating with Regina Ruiz, Chief...

THE SANTA BARBARA INDEPENDENT | WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2022 | The COVID-19 pandemic may loom less menacing now than it did two years ago, but we are not out of the woods yet. As of this writing, new cases are still being registered each week...

Mina Wahab | November 26, 2022 MONTECITO, California Fashion and philanthropy will be the focus of Saturday’s event at the Rosewood Miramar Beach Hotel in Montecito. The St. Vincent’s Fashion show and Luncheon will raise money to help unhoused women and children to find housing…

  John Palminteri | October 20, 2022 SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – A special charity golf classic raised money Monday for children and family services in Santa Barbara at the St. Vincent’s facility on Calle Real. The benefit is now in its 21st year. It took…

 JOANNE CALITRI | OCTOBER 18, 2022 An overcast Monday, October 10 saw the 21st Annual St. Vincent’s Golf Classic Fundraiser at the Montecito Country Club touting 88 participants from 22 corporate sponsors, the most since its inception. This year the tee-gift for each participant was…

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15, 2022 | Last week marked the conclusion of Fr. John’s “VW Bug” Raffle! We are very grateful to everyone who participated in this friendly fundraising campaign. Your contribution helped us raise over $37,000.00 in just little over a month! The raffle drawing…

MONDAY, MAY 30, 2022 | After nearly a two-year hiatus, I Madonnari, the annual Italian street painting festival, brought thousands of onlookers to Old Mission during the Memorial Day weekend. Sister Maria Hoa Nguyen, DC, and several volunteers had been working for many long hours…

THE SANTA BARBARA INDEPENDENT | TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2022 | Lack of affordable childcare has been a chronic problem in Santa Barbara since the early 20th century. The city, however, may look with pride to its past when trying to address the problem in the…

April 1st, 2022 | Join Sister Paule Freeburg, D.C. on a fascinating journey through St. Vincent’s history based on audio and visual relics stored at St. Vincent’s Archive.

By HATTIE BERESFORD | MONTECITO JOURNAL | March 1st, 2022 | In 1854, Pope Pius IX consecrated Thaddeus Amat y Brusi as bishop of Monterey. The reluctant prelate (he had tried to ditch the papal appointment) moved the headquarters of the diocese to Santa Barbara…

February 15, 2022 | The history of St. Vincent’s in Santa Barbara is closely intertwined with a history of global Vincentian ministry. In this segment exploring the archives and history of St. Vincent’s, I want to leaf through documents and photos from my personal collection….

By JOANNE CALITRI | MONTECITO JOURNAL | December 7, 2021 | The Santa Barbara 12th Annual Fashion Show and Luncheon fundraiser on November 27 is a story of firsts for the organization. This event, which began more than 10 years ago on humble grounds at…

By KATHERINE ZEHNDER | NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT | November 27, 2021 | 11:11 a.m. St. Vincent’s, a Santa Barbara nonprofit, has hosted the most successful fashion show in its history. Proceeds from Saturday’s show and luncheon go to St. Vincent’s Family Strengthening Program, which provides housing,…

By KATHERINE ZEHNDER | NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT | November 26, 2021 | 9:11 a.m. St. Vincent’s, a Santa Barbara nonprofit, will host its annual fashion show and luncheon on Saturday, November 27th, at the Rosewood Miramar Beach. The Montecito event helps to raise money to support…